Machine for plucking pelts.



Patented July 3|, I900.

J. W. SUTTON.

MACHINE FOR PLUGKING PELTS.

(Appliation filed Mar. 4, 1899. Renewed June 26, 1900.)

(No Model.) 4 SheetsSheef I.

NVENTOH %WIITNESSES I l/djvfl/ TH: 'uoams mans 00.. PNOTOLH'HO WASHINGTON, o. c,

N0. 655,03l. Patented lu ly 3|, I900.

.1. w. summ. MACHINE FOB PLUCKING PELTS.

(Application filed Mar; 4, 1899. Rexiewed June 26, 1900.)

(No Model.) 4 Sheets'-Sheat 2-.

WITNESSES INVENTO ATTORN '2 01: "came PETERS co. PM, wlsmnomn, n. c.

Patented July 3|, I900.

.1 w. SUTTON. MACHINE FOR PLUCKING PELTS.

lAnplietion filed Mar. 4, 1899. Renewed June 96, 1900.)

(No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3,

v is- IN VE N T01 fa/wf/ B), A 7 70 Y8.

WITNES3ES:

No. 655,031. Patented .luly 3|, I900.

.1. w. SUTTON. MACHINE FOR PLUGKING PE LTS.

(Application filed Mar. 4, 1899. Renewed June 28, 1900.)

( a 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IINVENTOR WI TNESSES:

. Aron/s.

THE "cams PETER ca. PnoTo-umo. wAsmnm'ou. n, c.

UNITED STATES g PATENT CFFICE.

JOHN w. snrron, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

MACHINE-FOR PLUCKING pm.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 65 5,031, dated July 31, 1900. Application filed March 4, 1899. Renewed June 26, 1900 Serial No. 21,683 (No modeli) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN WASHBURN SUT- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, borough of Manhattan, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Plucking Pelts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for plucking pelts, and more particularly to improvements over the invention covered by Letters Patent granted to me April 2, 1895, No. 536,742, the improvement residing in certain improvements whereby the means for making a Fparting in the fur to cause the stiif hairs to stand out is enabled to make a more decided and regular parting, thus avoidplucking pelts.

ing the danger of some of the fur being out off with the stiff hairs.

The invention consists of certain details of construction and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and then particularly claimed. g y p l In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved machine for Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical; longitudinal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a Vertical longitudinal section similar to Fig. 3, but being only a fragment thereof, inasmuch as the stretcher-bar mechanism and separating mechanism are omitted, Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the upper part of the machine looking toward the opposite side of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of I the main working parts of the pelt-plucking machine, showing the same in their inoperlative position, the movable rotary separatinglbrush being, however, at work. Fig. 7 is a similar view of the same parts, showing them in action, the movable rotary separatingbrush being out of action; and Fig. 8 is a detail elevation of the guard-comb. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A indicates the frame of the machine, and A the main driving-shaf t, which is j ournaled in suitable bearings and is driven from any suitable source of power in the well-known 5 a manner.

a is a p nion mounted on one end of the drrvrng-shaftAf and meshing with a large gear-wheel B,that is in turn mounted on a shaft 13, said shaft carrying two cams B and B of suitable conformation, which are adapt.- ed to reciprocate a carriage O, which is guided along suitable ways 0,, provided at the'upper part of the frame of themachine. For guiding the carriage G the same is preferably provided with laterally-projecting guide-pieces O, that slide upon the guideways a. The cams B and B work between two antifric tion-rollers b b, which turn on short shafts supported by the carriage, sothat as the faces of the cams B and B work against these rollers 19 b during the rotation of the shaft B the carriage will be rcciprocated back and forth. The carriage O is provided with a slot at each side, (see dotted lines, Fig. 3,)

through which the shaft 13' passes, thus permitting thereciprocatory movement of the carriage by the cams l3 and B without inand ratchet mechanism, so as to move the pelt over the edge of the stretcher-bar, said pawl and-ratchet mechanism beingsupported on the rear part of the carriage.

C (J are brackets mounted on the rear end of the carriage 0,-which project, respectively, Y

upwardlyand downwardly and are provided with journals for the axles of belt or apron carrying and guiding rollers E E, while the axle of a third roller E is supported in bearings of the carriage-frame in front of the rollers E E so that the rollers are arranged at points corresponding to the apices of the angles of a triangle, the roller E being nearer the stretcher-bar than the others. The peltcarrying apron E is guided over these rollers E'E E and moves in the direction indicated by the arrows and passes over the stretcherbar D. Roller E is supported by helical springs e. The shafts or axles of the rollers E respectively carry gear-wheels F F, the teeth of which mesh with an intermediate pinion f, mounted on a short shaft f. on the frame of the carriage. Q On'the shaft f is also mounted a large ratchet-wheel F ,"the teeth of which are engaged by a driving-pawl G and check-pawl Gr, one applied to a bracket other to a box G mounted on the side rail of the-carriage G. The check-pawl G is directed downwardly and inwardly toward the teeth of the ratchet-wheel by means, of a suitable tension-spring coiled inside of box G whilethe pawl G is a gravitating one, being pivoted to the "armor bracket 9, extending upwardly from the frame of the machine, said pawl engaging with the upper part of the ratchet-wheel, so that it will be held in con-, tact with the same by its own weight. These pawls are held out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet-Wheel by means of a curved frame U, which is hung on the shaft f and. is provided with notched flanges U,

l operation, however, the frame U hangs in the position shown in Fig. 5, so that the pawls G G will engage the succeeding teeth of the ratchet-wheel at each backward reciprocation "of the carriage.

The endless apron E is tightly stretched around the guide-rollers and stretcher-bar, and the pelts W are attached one after the other to the upper lap of the said apron and then moved with the apron toward and passed successively over the same and'then moved over the rollers E E E. This permits the; replacin'g of the plucked pelt on the upper; lap ofthe apron by a new pelt, so that there need be no interruption in the working of the machine.

H H indicate brackets or side plates at op-J posite sidesof the frame A of the machine, said brackets being provided with suitablej bearings for the shafts H of a pair of rotary} brushes h h. These'rotary brushes are mountis imparted to these stationarily-mounted" 'bru'shes'h h. The brushes h h are mounted 5 5 appr'oxi'matelyin the 'same plane at oneside,

ed in stationary bearings near together and are provided with pulleys h h over which passes an endless belt I, guided over a series "of pull'eysal, mounted on the side plates or brackets H H and'being driven from the rear "end of the machine by means of a pelt-pulley 1 j,-mounted onfthe driving-shaft A, before referredto, so that a continuous rotary motion which in the machine shown in the drawings stretcher-bar D is 'a movable rotary separating-brush K, the shaftof which is 'journaled in suitable bearings in the ends of an'oscillating frame (or arms) K, which is pivoted to the frame of the machine at k. The arms K are each provided with a lug which carries an antifriction-roller 10 which is adapted to be engaged by the lug or cam (1, arranged behind the stretcher-bar upon the carriage O, the inclin'ed'face of this lug or cam bearing upon the antifriction-roller 7c at each forward reciprocation of the carriage, so that the arms K are oscillated and the brush moved away from the stretcher-bar, a spring K connected with the arms K and with a suitable part of the frame of the machineas, for instance, the plate H- -tendin'g to move the brush K toward the stretcher-bar as the same is moved inwardly. The brush Kis moved in contact with the receding portion of the pelt and is arranged to act thereon when theqstre'tcherbar itself has receded, a stationary guardcomb L being fixed transvers'ely'to the frame of the machine beyond the rotary brush K,

so as to act on the pelt when the stretcher-bar is moved forward. The shaft B, before referred to, carries a one end a'bevel-pinion m, whichmeshes with another bevel-pinion m, arranged on the longitudinal shaft M, journaled in'suitable bearings at one side of the frame of the machine and supporting at its opposite end a bevelpini-on n,which meshes with a bevel-pinion n, mounted on a transverse shaft N, 'journ-aled in suitable bearings 17, of the frame of'the 3 able holder P, supported by an oscillating frame P that is pivoted atp tp movable supports Q. The'rear'ends of the sidebars of the swinging frame 1? are provided with heels 10, which are adapted to bestruck by tappets '5 mounted upon theshaft B, so-that as the ta-ppets are moved toward the oscillatin g frame in contact with said heels the frame is oscillated and the reciprocating knife P moved away from the stretcher bar. Th'e knives O and P are-so mounted and relatively arranged'as that when the stretcher-bar'is in forward position and the fur has been brushed back by the brushing medium and thestifi the projecting-stifif hairs. The supports Q 7 a for the swinging'f-rame -P are provided with isthe upper side of the stretcher-bar, so as to -a'c't upon the p'el't as it passes theknife-edge of-'the'stretcher-bar D. The brush h acts con- *tinuously on the pelt, while the brush h acts intermittentlythereon at-each forward movem'entof the stretchenb'ar D. These move-F merits willlb'edescribed more in detail herei inaffte'r, Arrang'edat theoppositeside ojf the slots g, which recei ve guid'e-pins'q, projecting from the frame of the machine, {so that the said supports may be guided up and down 'for the purpose of moving the reci'procatingknife P into operative position or into {inoperative position. When the supports Q are lowered, the oscillating frame P willno't beacted upon by tappets b Toggle-links R"R"are;pivoted at 'r to the movable supports Q and at 'r to the frame of the machine, the joints of the toggles being connected,"by meanso'f links S,

IIO

with the rock-arms S of a rock-shaft S which is journaled in suitable bearings in the frame of the machine and is adapted to be oscillated by means of a hand-lever S arranged in a convenient position to be actuated by the operator or attendant of the machine.

As in my prior patent, the movable rotary separating-brush K is continuously rotated through the medium of the belt T, which .passes over a pulley on the shaft of the brush K to a pulley on the driving-shaft A, the same being passed over an idler t, which by medium of a spring t places the belt T under tension and takes up the slack thereof.

The machine operates as follows: The driving-shaft A imparts through the medium of the belt transmission continuous rotation to the rotary brushes h, h, and K. The cams B which are rotated through the gearing connected with the driving-shaft A, reciprocate the carriage C, which supports the stretcher-bar D, backwardly and forwardly. At each backward movement of the carriage the ratchet-wheel F is rotated for the distance of one tooth by means of the pawls G G, against which the ratchet-teeth are caused to strike, thereby imparting an intermittent or step-by-step motion to the apron and the pelts W, which are supported thereon. It will be observed from Figs. 3, 6, and 7 that the pelt W being plucked is always subjected to the action of the stationary rotatable brush h, so that the fur and hairs are always stirred up, no matter what may be the position of the stretcher-bar. As the stretcher-bar moves inwardly the fur and stiff hairs are vigorously stirred up by the rotary brush h, and as the stretcher-bar moves outwardly the said brush 71. assists the brush h in drawing back the fur. Just before and when the stretcher-bar D has reached its forward position the rotarybrush h exerts a pulling or matting action on the soft fur; but this action is insufiicient to overcome the tendency of the stiff hairs c, which rise at the parting at the edge of the stretcher-bar, the formation of which parting is facilitated by the backward-pulling action on the fur caused by the action of the rotary brush h. By the conjoint use of the continuously-acting rotary brush h and of the intermittently-acting brush it the fur is subjected to a thorough cleansing or loosening action and is placed in the best condition for being held back away from the part formed by the rotary separating-brush h. It will also be seen that during the forward movement of the stretcher-bar and just before the pelt has been acted upon by the rotary brush it the other brush 71. will have exerted a brushing action on the fur, tending to pull it away from the edge of the stretcher-bar, and this pulling action is perupon the antifriction-roller 10 so as to oscillate the brush K at the opposite side of the stretcher-bar away from the same against the tendency of the tension-spring K Before this movement takes place and when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 6 thebrush K will be in such position as that it will act upon the fur at the opposite side of the stretcher-bar from the brushes h h and pull the fur with the water or stiff hairs back, the latter springing forward by their own stifiness. The forward end of the camel is blunt, so that a certain dwell is produced at the commencement of and just before the forward movement of the stretcherbar, giving the brush K sufficient time to perform its function. When moving backward, the spring K holds the antifriction-roller against the cam d and raises the rotary brush K. In this manner by the conjoint action of the brushes h, h, and K a parting is formed in the pelt at the edge of the stretcherbar and the fur is held back, while the stiff or water hairs are caused to project. The movable rotary separating-brush K acts upon the pelt when the stretcher-bar is in its advanced position and is behind the edge of the stretcher-bar when the stiff or water hairs are being removed. In the extreme outward position of the stretcher-bar the soft fur which has been brushed back by the rotary brush K is retained by the stationary guard-comb L, through which any stiff or water hairs which may be retained will spring into the parting formed at the angle of the pelt formed by bending it over the edge of the stretcher-bar. It is evident that the pelt is not in motion when the carriage is moving forward with the stretcher-bar, and consequently when the stretcher-bar arrives at its advanced position the stiff or water hairs which are projecting from the parting formed at the angle of the pelt can be removed by the reciprocating knife P, which cooperates with the rotary knife 0, as shown in Fig. 7. When the row of projecting stiff or water hairs has been removed, the stretcher-bar recedes, and just as the carriage arrives in its rearward posi tion the pawl-'and-ratchet mechanism imparts anotherintermittent movement to the endless apron and the pelt supported thereby, so that by means of the separating-brushes another row of water or stiff hairs can be caused to project from the parting formed by said brushes. i

I do not limit myself to the precise means for removing water or stiff hairs from pelts nor to the precise means for holding the fur away from the angle of the pelt at the edge of the stretcher-bar, as any other well-known or equivalent means may be used in place thereof.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. In a machine for plucking pelts, the com bination, with a stretcher=bar, and guide-roll' sass "ers dis-posed triangula'rly, of a" taut endless apron guided over said rollers and stretcherbar, mechanism for transmitting motion to said rollers and apron, and means'for'removing thehairs projecting at the parting, in

front ofthe edge of the stretcher-bamsub- 's-tantially asset forth.

2'. In amac'hi nezfor pl'ueking'pelts, the combination, with a reciprocating carriage; a

to stretcher-bar thereon, guide-rollers, a taut endless apron guided over said rollers, m echanism for reciprocating said carriage and stretcher-bar, and mechanism for transmitting motionto said rollers and apron, of means for making a parting in the fur, at the edge of thestretch'er-b'ar such means comprising 7 w arotary brush arranged at the leading side of the stretcher bar corresponding with the in'going'port ion of the pelt, and means for removing the hairs projecting at the parting-in front of the edge of the stretcher-bar, substantially as set'forth. 7

3 In amachineforpiuckingpeits, the'com bination, with a movable stretcher-bar over 2 5 which thepelt is passed, of a pair of'brush-es 3o tently-acting brush being located in front of the oonti'nnouslyacting brush, and m cans for rotating said brushes, substantially as set forth.

4-. In a machine for plucking pelts, the com- 3 5 bination, with a movable stretcher bar, of a movable rotary separating-brush, and means in; connection with said stretcher-bar and brush for producing the movement ofsaid 'brush simultaneously with the stretcher bar to and away from said stretcher-bar, substantiallyas set forth. Q p

5'. In amachine for pluckingpelts, the combination, with a movable stretcher-barover which thepelt passes, of a brush at one side of thestretcher-bar, and a movable rotary separating-brush at the opposite side-of the stretcher-bar, substantially as set forth.

p 6. In a machine for pluckinglpelts,the-combination, witha movable stretcher-bar'over which the peltpasses',of'a rotary brush mounted in stationary bearingsat one side of the stretchenbar, a movable rotary separatingbrush' arranged at the' opposite side of the stretcher-bar, means in connection with the stretcher-bar for producing 'thesimultaneous move ment, of themovable rotatable separat; ing-brrish; and m'eansfor removing the stiif or water hairs" caused to project by said brushes, substantiallyas set forth. p

'Z. In a machine for pluoking pelta-t'h'e combinafion, with; a movable stretcher-bar over which the pelt passes; of means for-brushing back the fu-r, amovablerotaryseparatingbrush and a stationary guard-comb arranged in advance-of'the-knife-edge'of the stretcherbarat the receding side of: the same, said brush bei-ng arranged between the stretcherbar and guard-comb substantiallyas setforth; I In; testimony that I'claimithe-foregoing as my'invention I have signed my name in presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

JOHN W, SUTTON;

-Wi'tnesses: d

7 PAUL GoEPEL, v v H NRY WURTZEL. 

